Published European patent application 0,554,137 A1 discloses a pocket dispenser for medications in the form of capsules or tablets and comprising a dispensing case and a detachable loader, said loader comprising several transverse compartments able to store medications and forming a continuous longitudinal chain. This dispenser comprises optical means mounted near the outlet orifice and that detect the transit of the medication exiting from the compartments.
Such a dispenser has a drawback in that the medications must be arranged in the sequence of their ingestion and, when there are different times for ingestion of different medications, the configuration of the compartments becomes complex. The design solution of using one dispenser for each type of medication then becomes both costly and bulky. Moreover the optical detectors are susceptible to being soiled and may detect poorly when medications of different colors and different sizes are used.
Published French patent application 2,650,426 furthermore discloses a non-portable programmable dispenser that receives medications for housing in sorted drawers. The dispenser displays the dosages of the medications to be ingested. The patient pushes a button to open the drawers.
The drawback of such a dispenser is that the patient must consult a screen to learn the number and quantity of medications to take. Since the stores of medications are accessible, the patient himself must ensure their accurate dispensing. The danger inherent in self-treatment, in particular of dangerous drugs, is that it is possible to exceed the prescribed dosages. Moreover such a dispenser does not automatically detect the removal of medication which is merely confirmed by the user.